The CAQ: A New Agreement for Bombardier

2 March 2016

Following a sad announcement on Wednesday morning that forecasted a loss of 2400 jobs in Quebec, over the next two years at Bombardier, Prime Minister Philippe Couillard finds himself with his back against the wall. According to François Legault, he has no other option but to renegotiate his agreement with Quebec’s crown jewel, in order to secure assets, jobs and for the head office to remain in the province.

During today’s Question Period, François Legault indicated that Bombardier’s announcement is a perfect indicative, that the draft agreement signed by the Liberal government was poorly negotiated. It isn’t too late, specified the CAQ Leader, as the 1.3 billion dollar investment has yet to be disbursed. He urged Philippe Couillard to act immediately for the sake of our economy, but also for the sake of the 2,400 Bombardier employees and their families. Couillard is putting Quebecers’ profits at risk out of raw stubbornness, regretted Mr. Legault.

“Since its announcement, I told the Prime Minister that this draft agreement contained two problems. First, there are no guarantees based on Bombardier’s assets as a whole. Second, there are no guarantees to maintain Bombardier’s jobs and headquarters in Quebec. All political parties at the National Assembly have at heart to help Bombardier, but it is the government’s responsibility to negotiate the best possible agreement for taxpayers and to ensure that our jobs remain in Quebec. The Minister of Transport has realized, last week, that he will have a decision to make on March 31st, if the federal government decides not to invest. The Prime Minister needs to stop playing his broken record; it is not too late to fix his mistake”, insisted François Legault at the blue hall.

The CAQ Leader encourages Philippe Couillard to pick his economic battles. It seems obvious that a 1.3 billion dollar investment in a company that, tit for tat, cuts 2,400 jobs in Quebec, is an alarming sign. “You don’t need to be an expert to realize that something is wrong! The Prime Minister needs to cease his struggle against the exploration project in Anticosti and to take care of Bombardier”, hammered away François Legault.